My Favorite Person

My favourite person â€Å"Michael Jordan† † I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. † Those encouraging words were spoken by Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan was born in Brooklyn, New York, on February 17, 1963. He moved to Wilmington, North Carolina. I am going to tell you why Jordan is in fact so famous. He had to go through tough obstacles all his life.His love for basketball began when his older brother, Larry, continuously beat him in one-on-one pickup games. Michael was taking the challenges but he didn’t give up, that was why he became a better player. Jordan played basketball for Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina. When he was a sophomore Jordan was cut from varsity basketball team. Instead of giving up he was working hard, hour after another. He spent a lot of time in the gym practicing, only reason why he did that was to achieve his goal by becoming a professional player and to make the team.Finally he made the team and let it to the state championship. Jordan then accepted a basketball scholarship from the University of North Carolina. Two years later he got drafted into the NBA. Michael Jordan was the most valuable player for a long time. Everyone knows and consider him the best basketball player ever. There is no such person that doesn’t know who is Michael Jordan. I picked this person because I really think that MJ was the one who brought the game of basketball on a new level. His thoughts and philosophy motivate nowadays other great players.He was a strong guy during his life, the death of his father was a shock for him but he stood still and went back to the NBA. That’s the quality that few people have is moving forward to your dreams no matter what happens in your life. I am going back to MJ’s words † I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. † Becoming a successful person is a long way full of failures and mistakes and that makes someone successful in something it’s the dedication and hardwork.

Obesity and the Media Essay

Although advertisers and the media have a huge impact on the issue of childhood obesity, the parents have the final call on what their children eat and don’t eat. It is the parents who give in to their children’s whining and give them what they want just to please them. Childhood obesity starts when the children are old enough to realize that they can get their way when they cry for something. It is the parents’ responsibility to lead by example and teach their children healthy eating habits at a young age. If the parents have unhealthy eating habits and include fast food and fried food in their diet on a regular basis, it is likely that their children will do the same. Kids will get accustomed to eating whatever is made available for them in their home. It is the parents’ job to provide healthy snack options so that their children can get used to healthy habits at early ages. When children are first attracted to the fast food ads at a very young age, it is often because they are attracted to the toys such as the ones offered in â€Å"happy meals.† Another reason why fast food is so popular is because it is a quick and easy meal when people are busy or don’t feel like cooking dinner. My solution to these issues would be to create a fast food chain that offered healthier options. That way, when people want to drive through and order something quick, they would be able to do so while still eating healthy. These restaurants would also offer children’s meals that include a toy, which would promote staying active, and eating healthy. The advertisement that I created is for a healthy fast food restaurant called Chick-A-Dees. This restaurant would offer all natural foods, rather than deep-fried options. The ad uses bright colors and cartoon characters to get children’s attention. It also promises a toy with every kid’s meal and advertises a jungle gym for kids to play on when they come to the restaurant. If restaurants opened that made healthy food seem exciting and fun to kids, they would definitely be more likely to want to try it or even like it. The advertising of toys that are included in kids’ meals at fast food restaurants is a main reason that young kids want to go to these places. However, there are many other toys for children that are advertised on television everyday, which encourage unhealthy eating habits. Among these are: the Easy Bake Oven, Popcorn Basketball, Smores Stick, Marshmallow Gun, Girls Gourmet Candy Jewel Factory Oven, 1000 Piece Candy Jigsaw, Counting Cookies, Mix and Match Doughnuts, and McDonalds Drive Through Food Cart. (The Toy Zone) All of these toys cause children to associate unhealthy eating with fun, which is a main contributing factor to the issue of childhood obesity. The KidsHealth article makes a great point about how parents need to act as role models and demonstrate to their kids proper serving size, how to enjoy treats in moderation, and exercising regularly. This is so true; bad habits start when the child is very young, and over time they become more difficult to squash. The article mentions some habits that parents should get their kids used to such as: have regular family meals, serve a variety of healthy foods and snacks, be a role model by eating healthy yourself, avoid battles over food, and involve kids in the process. Regular family meals have a huge impact on preventing unhealthy eating habits. If the family makes it their goal to sit down for dinner together even 4 days a week, it would make all the difference. As the article titled Childhood Obesity states, â€Å"children are getting more of their food away from home.† Making family meals a regular part of the routine would prevent the family from turning to the easy option of fast food, or eating out at restaurants where they serve countless courses and portions that are much to big for one sitting. The KidsHealth website also suggests that parents stock up on healthy foods. Having fattening or sugary snacks available for kids to snack on when they’re hungry will only add to the issue. There are plenty of healthy and organic snacks that are really tasty also, and if kids get used to eating them while they’re young, they will never know the difference. Making sure your child has breakfast is also an important factor to a healthy diet, as stated in Childhood Obesity. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and necessary for a healthy metabolism. The article pretty much covers all the issues and solutions that I would like to obesity in children. If I were to add something to it I would say that it is so important that parents are involved in their child’s life. This gets even more important as they grow into teens, so it should start when they are children. Parents should know if the child is having problems in school, trouble making friends, being bullied, etc. All of these issues can contribute to the child turning to food for comfort. Another idea that the article didn’t mention is parents buying their children toys that encourage healthy activity rather than laziness or unhealthy eating. Instead of buying a videogame or and Easy Bake Oven for example, get them things to play their favorite sport with. If the child isn’t into sports, and would rather play video games, encourage active games like Wii Fit or Dance games. Getting involved in the activity is a great way to encourage it. I don’t think that the media has exaggerated the issue of childhood obesity in our society. It is a huge problem and we see it everyday, no matter where we are. The media needs to start promoting less of the unhealthy habits and show more advertisements for healthy eating and games and toys that involve activity. In order to prevent obesity and diseases that are linked to it, parents must encourage and demonstrate healthy eating habits as well as teaching their children to stay active. The prevention must start when the child is young, and remain steady and continuous as they grow. http://www.aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/child_obesity/ http://www.thetoyzone.com/2010/15-toys-that-will-make-your-children-fat/

One mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter Essay

One mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter - Essay Example This essay discusses that careful analysis of Islamic law as manifested in the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights would tend to reveal that it is impossible to invoke human rights principles under a system where what is given primacy is the stability of the state, the maintenance of culture and tradition and the binding force of religion. In the United States, for instance, though we see wanton violations of due process and human rights committed by the Bush administration, the grand majesty of the law may at least be invoked to seek redress and to call policies wrong or reprehensible. This paper makes a conclusion that with that said, there are still positive changes to look forward to. The mere fact that the CDHR was entered into by the Islamic states means that there is at least recognition of the need to adhere to a basic human rights framework and that states may no longer act with impunity and expect no censure from the international community. Certainly, there should also be mo ves to actively pursue human rights offenders and punish human rights violations – whether large or small scale. There is a great ethical and moral imperative to exhume the past if only to serve as lessons for the future. In addition, through vigilance and continuous lobbying and sowing the seeds through human rights education, we make it possible to envision a future where human rights are protected, diversity is celebrated and every individual is allowed to blossom to his or her fullest potential. Â  ... The converse of that, of course, is that far too many leaders justify brazen acts of oppression and injustice as a cultural norm and should thus fall outside the scrutiny of the international community. How indeed does one balance these competing interests The concept of human rights is by no means of recent vintage. It is used primarily to define relationships between the citizens and the State, by constituting a check on the awesome power of the State and by enabling human beings to flourish to their fullest potential free from oppression, strife, hunger and discrimination. A thriving and robust democracy, it is often said, can only be achieved when basic human rights are preserved. Cherished principles like press freedom, religious freedom, diversity and pluralism are indispensable requirements of a democratic society. It is difficult, if not altogether impossible, to argue against the validity of these principles. The various conflicts and revolutions in the world have shaped the concept of human rights as we know it. In the last two hundred and fifty years, we see the clamor for human rights as the clamor of a world and of the various peoples inside it for equality and freedom. Starting with the French and American revolutions towards the latter part of the eighteenth century, it is this very notion of human rights that has led colonized states and revolutionary movements to assert their voices and fight for their freedoms against oppressive and despotic governments - from the Tiananmen Square uprising in China to the struggle of the East Timorese against Indonesian occupation. When the United Nations was created in 1948 by a world still reeling from the ravages of the Second World War and intent on healing the wounds

Audience Analysis and Reception Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Audience Analysis and Reception - Essay Example Also, since the audience is the management of the workplace, I must also keep in mind that my report should be concise and to-the-point, since the management would not have enough to time to spare and read a lengthy report with more hanky-panky and less real content. The report should reflect the overall impression of the organization. The most important things to consider while writing a formal report are its tone, structure, and length. However, other audience needs include their age and educational level. I must not present complex, technical information to non-technical audience. To go into some more detail, a formal report must contain some or all of these structural components, keeping in view that the management is going to judge me on the basis of the report I present to them. I must give proper consideration to the front matter, the body of the report, and the back matter. The front matter includes a little information about the addressee, the executive summary of the report, the title page, table of contents, and lists of figures and tables. The body of the report should include introduction to the report, the discussion of findings and results, and the conclusion. The back matter must contain the appendix, references, and glossary. This is how I should format my report when I have to present it to the management, keeping in view the needs of the audience. It is also important to discuss here the risks of not considering the audience’s needs. The main risk is that the management will consider me as an irresponsible individual, with no sense of how to deal with seniors. Although the management already knows my educational and professional background, yet they will expect me to prove myself after I have become an employee with their organization. My overall impression as an employee will get destroyed in case I present a report that is void of audience awareness. My chances of getting

Interpersonal Intelligence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Interpersonal Intelligence - Essay Example They easily empathize with other people, sensitive to their emotions and moods and understand them well. Social gatherings are greatly enjoyed by them. This explains why they have many friends and they like engaging in team sports (Personality Max, n.d.). Cherry went on to say that because of these characteristics, people with a high interpersonal intelligence will be successful in the fields of psychology, philosophy, guidance counseling, sales or politics (n.d.). Most religious leaders, nurses, therapists, community organizers, teachers and mediators are people with interpersonal intelligence. One can learn to develop his interpersonal intelligence by participating in community organizations, taking a leadership role in group activities, taking up a team sport or informally tutoring other people. Enhancing one’s listening and communication skills are also essential to develop interpersonal intelligence. Cherry, K. (n.d.). Gardners theory of multiple intelligences. Retrieved January 10, 2012, from psychology.about.com Web site:

REPORT OF NURSING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

REPORT OF NURSING - Essay Example Initially, some relevant statistics on stress in America would be presented prior to expounding on the causes and effects, as required. The statistics on stress have been monitored by Stress in America where the results have been published in the official website of the American Psychological Association (APA) as patterns were reportedly decreasing, over the past five years, as shown in Figure 1, below: Likewise, the report revealed that â€Å"more than 9 in 10 (94 percent) adults believe that stress can contribute to the development of major illnesses, such as heart disease, depression and obesity, and that some types of stress can trigger heart attacks, arrhythmias and even sudden death, particularly in people who already have cardiovascular disease (92 percent)† (APA, 2012, par. 12). The health-related concerns have been proven to be triggered by stress factors as presented below: The causes of stress was clearly illustrated in Figure 2 as ranging from financial factors, work, the status of the economy, relationships, responsibilities in the family, health problems that affect one’s family members, personal health problems, job stability, costs of housing, and personal safety, in decreasing order. The statistics revealed that in 2011, people become increasingly irritable or prone to anger (42%); feels nervous or anxious (39%); are easily fatigued (37%); feels depressed or sad (37%); have manifested lack of interest or motivation (35%); develops headache (32%); tendencies to cry (30%); complains of upset stomach or indigestion (24%) and exemplifies muscular tension (24%). These all confirm that different causes of stress directly impact people, as manifested through the physical and health concerns, as identified above. American Institute of Stress. N.d. Stress, Definition of Stress, Stressor, What is Stress? Eustress? [Online]. Available at: http://www.stress.org/topic-definition-stress.htm [Accessed 13 March

Business Process Modeling Approaches Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Process Modeling Approaches - Article Example Paul Harmon comes in to provide much simpler, quicker, less expensive yet equally beneficial ways of improving the performance of one’s business. Paul picks up from Rummler and Brache who introduced a very straight forward modeling approach (Harmon, 2003). They named this approach Process Mapping. The Process Mapping model was further developed to form the Unified Language Modeling and later into the Business Process Modeling Notation. Paul argues that these models involve the use of extra work and he tries to simplify them while at the same time ensuring that the end results will be equally worth it. He starts by saying that any business that wants to carry out a business process modeling needs to identify its current position, reasons for the remodeling as well as what it wants to achieve at the end of the process. In his book Business Process Change, Paul picks up on the Unified Modeling Language to describe and uses it to describe various business processes that may need remodeling if a business is to improve its efficiency. Here, Paul identifies different levels of business process from external processes, top-level processes down to the junior-level processes where roles have been assigned to various junior officers in the company. He says that it is important for every business level to be remodeled if the company wants the best results from the whole business modeling process (Harmon, 2003). Paul Harmon brings out various business modeling diagrams that are essential for a business to have. He introduces that ‘is diagrams’ which reflect the company’s current position, the ‘could diagrams’ which indicate the company’s targets and that ‘should diagrams’ which are a must attain target for the company. He recognizes the need for a business to integrate human activities and information technology (IT) activities in the modeling process for best results. According to Paul, any efficient

Racism and discrimination in Australia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Racism and discrimination in Australia - Essay Example People find a way to discriminate by use of discriminatory remarks and abusive language in their comments in the name of fun and celebration. Discrimination in the Australian society requires the immigrants to adopt the norms and values of the dominant culture of the native White population. Discrimination and lack of equal opportunities to the different ethnic communities dwelling together in Australia is a result of loopholes in the constitutional framework regarding the protection of rights of ethnic minorities. With the increase in the immigration rate in Australia, concerns about racism have increased. Initially, the questions about racism that surfaced reflected that the people of Australia are ready to reflect upon their attitudes and behaviors to bring a positive change in them. However, these questions do not enhance people’s self-understanding to a considerable extent. â€Å"Instead, we need a renewed commitment to a â€Å"fair go† for all Australians; an ins piring vision of the sort of country we could become, including an inclusive form of national identity; and unflinching recognition that racial prejudice is a harsh reality in Australia† (Brice-Weller and Paradies, 2012). One way in which discrimination cultivates in the Australian culture is the decriminalization of certain members of the society. Certain subjects in the Australian culture e.g. ... As a consequence of this decriminalization, there are very small punishments for drug dealing or drug use in Australia. A considerable population of the small-time drug dealers does not have to stay in the jail at all. In the year 2007, a federal parliamentary committee reported that it has assessed the government’s policy of harm-minimization ineffective as it encourages the adoption of a zero-tolerance approach towards providing the students with education about drugs in schools. The federal parliamentary committee also demanded a change in the law to put the children into compulsory treatment to minimize the likelihood and effects of drug addiction. A considerable population of young Australians has adopted a pro-drug culture. This is evident from the fact that Triple J, that is a famous ratio station of national youth in Australia addresses the issue of drug use with a neutral sentiment and any attempts of the radio station to discourage the drug use is hardly ever witness ed. A vast majority of the youngsters in Australians take this neutrality of media as a way to encourage the use of drugs. Discrimination is embedded in the educational framework of Australia. â€Å"Participation in preschool programs in Australia is very low compared with other OECD nations and so too is total public expenditure for pre-school education and care. This is reflected in wide inequalities of access to pre-schooling† (Argy, 2007). Children that live in the homes of low socio-economic value like the remote and outer urban communities do not have equal access to the communication and information technologies as others living in prestigious localities. Better opportunities of early childhood education and

OC organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

OC organizations - Essay Example large black market for alcohol and created the opportunity for many groups considered at one time small times to rise in prominence in organized crime. The black market created from alcohol was easily filled by criminals. This reason alone was strong enough to repeal prohibition in 1933. As a public health policy historians argue that prohibition did reduce alcohol use and the associated harm (Hall, 2010, p 1165). Many dry states created economic power for wet states willing to transfer and sale across state lines which was a popular activity in organized crime. It was very common for organized crime organizations to be on regular shipment and supply schedules with establishments subject to prohibition. At that time, before 1930, there were no uniform National crime statistics and national prohibition and the illicit income it produced was a factor in widespread corruption of police and public officials (Hall, 2010, p1168). Disagreements over illegal alcohol shipments and delivery contributed to an increase in murder rates in large cities such as Chicago. States considered ‘wet’ attributed increases in Federal arrests to prohibition and it was more accurate to assume these arrests reflected crime rates rather than actual enforcement. Political mechanisms operated in the legitimate and less legitimates worlds of prohibition, racketeering, and vices which caused a loss of control in American politics, corrupt officials and organized crime groups took over these roles. Many political systems overlooked organized crime enabling them to stay in power using the often very influential support of the organized crime groups, eliminating opposition and more easily raising funds (Beare, 1997, p 157). It is these very reasons why the problem was not eliminated much more efficiently by either law enforcement or the United States government. Illegal narcotics trade was estimated to be the second largest industry in the world in 2007 (Swanstrom, 2007, p3). Transnational

Destructive natural phenomena Essay Example for Free

Destructive natural phenomena Essay Among the most destructive natural phenomena caused by nature and known to man are earthquakes. Earthquakes are not only considered as one of the most destructive, but among the most frightening, traumatic and violent as well. In addition, earthquakes are beyond man’s control. They are also unpredictable. This paper aims to answer the following questions: How do earthquakes occur? What causes earthquakes? Based on its scientific definition, an earthquake is the result of a sudden movement of the earths crust due to the stress released from geologic faults or by volcanic activity. Sometimes it is also called as seism or temblor (â€Å"Earthquakes†). We often think that an earthquake is merely the shaking of the ground based on what we experience and what we see in the news. What we are not really aware of is that an earthquake happens everyday. It is reported by the United States Geological Survey that over 3 million earthquakes occur yearly which means every 11 seconds, an earthquake takes place. That’s around 8,000 earthquakes a day. Most of the time, the majority of these quakes are and cannot be felt. What alert us are the stronger earthquakes that happen in highly populated areas. In order to determine an earthquake’s strength, scientists measure earthquake strength by using a seismograph. The information gathered by the graph is then calculated. The unit of measuring an earthquake’s strength or ‘intensity’ is the Richter scale which is in turn used to rate the energy released by the quake which is known as the magnitude. When an earthquake occurs, it continuously produces waves referred as seismic wave. There are several types of seismic waves but the waves responsible in the first few strikes of movement during an earthquake are called body waves. These waves often travel at the earth’s inner part (Harris, 2001). With the help of the P waves and the S waves, which are the types of body waves, scientists are able to determine where an earthquake took place. P waves also known as primary waves can travel through different mediums. It can travel through solids, liquids and even gases. It travels faster and hit the ground first. On the other hand the S waves or the secondary waves follows through making the ground also shake. Apparently these waves helps scientist locate an earthquake’s epicentre of location. Through the help of seismographs, the amount of time between the P waves and the S waves are then recorded which is called seismogram, this will then determine how far away the earthquake was from the location. Most of the time it takes 3 seismographs to locate the epicenter or the exact direction of the earthquake which is called triangulation (Wald, 2008). During early times, natural causes were accounted with the anger of the gods that were displeased with mans action. Today, natural disasters are no longer accounted to ancient gods anymore. Instead, man explains such occurrences based on modern science. There are many causes of earthquakes. These can be attributed to volcanic eruptions or even explosions created by humans but the most frequent potential cause of this is the seismic plate movement. The plate tectonic theory states that the surface layer of the earth called lithosphere is comprised of different plates. Through the advent of the plate tectonic theory, different phenomena and facts that were formerly unknown were finally understood. Facts such as the movement of the continents and volcanic activities were just among the few facts that plate tectonics had unveiled. Since plates tend to slide on the region below the lithosphere, any of the three different things can happen at the boundaries between these huge plates: (1) the plates can move apart- whenever this occurs, hot, molten rock called magma, flows up. Magma will then appear on the surface, an activity that mostly happens on the ocean floor turning it into lava which in turn cools down and fills the gaps when it hardens. The area where this occurs is called the divergent plate boundary. (2) The plates can push together- an occurrence where in one plate is pushed under the other one which is called subduction. When the plate is then pushed beneath, it melts down in the lower mantle layers. Although plates have the tendency to subduct with one another there are certain boundaries wherein neither of these two plates would be able to do so thus, the tendency of each plate is to push one another and form mountains. The convergent plate boundaries are an area where plates are more like to push against each other. The plates would slide against each other- when this happens the plates are then pushed tightly together building a great tension in the transform boundary (Harris, 2001). We all know that earthquakes may occur anywhere and anytime but there are certain areas that are close enough where frequent actions of tremblors take place. The ring of fire is a zone where frequent earthquakes as well as volcanic eruptions occur. It is said that almost 90% of earthquakes in the world is experienced in this area. Countries like the United States, Indonesia, Canada, Brazil, Colombia and Chile are some of the areas that are prone to tremblors (Crystal, 2008). An earthquake brings fear and devastation is alarming. Furthermore, the inability to predict an earthquake makes it even more fearful. Though scientists are still looking for ways to minimize the devastating effects of an earthquake, knowledge and the understanding earthquakes are man’s best defence. Earthquakes education serves as the best protection and the hopes and continuous researches provides more security and helps in devastation prevention. References Earthquakes. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth edition. Retrieved June 11, 2008, from http://dictionary. reference. com/browse/earthquakes Harris, T. (2001). How Earthquake Works. How Stuff Works. Retrieved June 12, 2008, from http://science. howstuffworks. com/earthquake. htm Wald, L. (2008). The Science of Earthquakes. U. S. Geological Survey. Retrieved June 12, 2008 from http://earthquake. usgs. gov/learning/kids/eqscience. php Crystal, E. (2008). Pacific Ring of Fire. Crystalinks. Retrieved June 12, 2008 from http://www. crystalinks. com/rof. html

Analysing Elements Of Corruption In The Indian Economy Politics Essay

Analysing Elements Of Corruption In The Indian Economy Politics Essay Enter the subcontinent in the nineteenth century, the crown jewel of the British Empire, a land rich with resources. Resources which, if properly utilized meant India could potentially be a very powerful nation one day. Post partition and independence from the 1950s up to the late 1980s India remained inclined towards the soviets and had a mixed economy which meant that there were considerable regulations and control in the economy. Empowering the bureaucrats led to corruption at every level of the government. This along with other factors sowed the seeds for a problem that is still very prevalent all over India. Corruption in present day India not only exists but thrives at all levels of government and all the services, to such an extent that even the military and the judiciary is full of corrupt officials. It is interesting to note that the bureaucracy of India under the British Empire was renowned to be largely untainted by corruption. Today the scene is hardly the same mostly owi ng to the electoral politics in India, the police and the judiciary collude with the politicians and engage in a very systematic form of corruption that has been a disgrace to Indias democratic system. In the mid nineteen sixties is considered to be a period where a great divide emerged in the history of public administration in India. Administrators shied away from the methods of the great politicians like Gandhi and Nehru who practiced principled politics. (Gill, 40-43) The key foundation to this new direction in which Indias administration was headed towards, was amorality and it was since then widely practiced in politics. Ever since then emerged an entire generation of politicians who were corrupt to the bone and involved in scandals at an enormous scale. This explains why the nineties were riddled with news of scandals and cons at the hands of persons in authority. The accused were often former ministers, governors and in certain cases even the prime minister. This goes to show that in Indias case no matter how many laws, rules and regulations are put in place to prevent corruption, if the persons who are entrusted with the political administration of the country misuse their authority and exploit the masses, there is absolutely nothing that can be done to prevent them from doing so. Perhaps the largest factor responsible for the corruption in India is that the leadership at the helm of the country not only turns a blind eye to it, but in many cases indulges in it as well. From this stems a trickledown effect that ultimately culminates in corruption being a bureaucratic and political norm in the society, a widely accepted means to achieving many every day ends. Post independence political leadership has stemmed from regional and linguistic movements, which means that such leader will always prefer the betterment of their race rather than the betterment of the Indian people as a whole, this selfish attitude got narrowed down until politics became a purely selfish pursuit. The rules of the game changed forever, as political survival and the pursuit for power, instead of the service of the people seems to be the ultimate aim of politics. The A.D. Gorwala report was one of the first attempts to highlight the problem of corruption that was so very prevalent in India. Gorwala claimed that the process of state building started from an individual level. Building characters of the leaders was the key to building a great nation, and according to Gorwala the immediate causes of the prevalent decadence that plagued the Indian society was World War two. Even though a lot of people helped with the war effort, it was never directly Indias war and hence many a few parties arose who profited from the war itself, both legally and illegally. This quality, of people profiteering from violence and looking for ways to increase their riches at the grave expense and at times lives of other people made them hardened criminals. These criminals took charge, ran for office and indulged in some of the worst scams of all times, siphoning out millions of rupees to private Swiss accounts. Gorwala also claimed that the national movement of indepe ndence failed to leave behind lasting spiritual sentiment amongst the population as a whole and died out giving way to the personal political ambitions of individuals. The report focused mostly on the leadership of the country and how it should lead by example and pointed out the endless scandals that stained their records. Enquiries into allegations have been made by senior all-India leaders of the principle partyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Often they have remained secret. Nor action was taken. It seems fairly clear that if the public is to have confidence that moral standards do prevail in high places, arrangements must be made that no one, however highly placed, is immune from enquiry if allegations against him are made by responsible parties and if a prima facie case exists. There should be no hushing-up or appearance of hushing-up for personal or political reasons. (Public Administration Committee 6-8) Transparency international conducted a Corruption study in 2005 in collaboration with the Centre for Media Studies in Delhi. This was perhaps the largest corruption study undertaken, the span of which ranged over 20 states and covered a sample of 14,405 people and it covered 151 cities and 306 villages. (India corruption study) A state wise analysis was performed, and it was concluded that Bihar was the most corrupt and Kerala stood to be the least corrupt, and among the government services the police was the most corrupt followed by the lower courts and the Land administration, making money a way out for people who may have committed heinous crimes and an illegitimate way to get legitimate services of the government essentially making these services unavailable for all those who cant afford the bribes. Basic amenities like health and electricity were heavily plagued by corruption, and where the courts and the police are the most corrupt, it is indeed going to be a complete mockery o f the rule of law which will no longer prevail. Without law, the very fabric that holds society together will unravel into anarchy. There were many attempts and inquiries made into corruption in various departments and many people took the initiative and voiced their reservations in the form of reports but without the support of senior politicians it was all to no avail. The Railway Corruption Enquiry Committee was one such early attempt. This commission was formed to investigate the corrupt practices that led to heavy losses for Indias extensive railway system. The committee was chaired by J.B. Kriplani, who called corruption the failure of the institution of citizenry that existed from the days of the Greek and Roman empires. (Railway Corruption Committee) It heavily criticized all forms of ticket evasion, bribery or theft. Above all it criticized the public servants for setting a negative example for the public. Senior bureaucrats and politicians used their posts to claim exemptions from paying tickets, setting a very negative trend. The report claimed that no one should be above the law and should do their pa rt in contributing positively to the general welfare of the society as a whole. The report stated that laws and reforms can only go so far in the attempt to curb these mal practices, but what would really make a difference was if the civil servants led a movement to make the people aware of their civic duties and for them to nurture that sentiment in the population, and this is only possible if they actively participate in rooting out corruption themselves. The role that politics plays in helping the spread of corruption in India was looked at most thoroughly by the Shah Commission of Enquiry which looked into the spending during the period of emergency from 1975-77. The head of this commission, justice Shah showed absolutely no reservations in condemning Sanjay Gandhi, son of Indra Gandhi, for committing one of the most heinous acts of corruption in the history of independent India. He stated that: The manner in which Shri Sanjay Gandhi functioned in the public affairs of Delhi in particular is the single greatest act of excess committed during the period of Emergency for which there is no parallel nor any justification for such assumption of authority or power in the history of independent India. While the other acts and excesses may have been in the nature of acts committed by functionaries have some shadow of authority acting in excess of their powers. Here was a case of individual wielding unlimited powers in a dictatorial capacity without even the slightest right to it. If this country is to be rendered safe for future generations the people owe it to themselves to ensure that an irresponsible and unconstitutional centre of power like the one which revolved around Shri Sanjay Gandhi during the Emergency is not allowed to ever come up again in any form or shape or under any guise.(Shah Commission Enqiry) In the nascent days of India, if we trace the tale of corruption, it is a little strange, especially in the case of Jawaharlal Nehru. Even though Nehru shielded many a few corrupt colleagues of his, it is interesting to note that he never benefited personally from any of their ventures. He did not crave material possessions and was a dedicated public servant. Despite that the part he played in highly visible instances of corruption and his support to the guilty set a very bad example and some might even go as far as to say that his actions legitimized corruption at the highest levels, thereby undermining all his principles, essentially jeopardizing the integrity of law. (Noorani 67) In the early days of nation building and setting standards and political morals for years to come, some say that Nehru was to blame for not making an example out of the people responsible. Maybe if not for these few lapses in judgment, maybe if a firm example had been set, India might not have to pay such a heavy price at the hands of corrupt leaders who go unpunished. It wasnt just the conduct of politicians, but also the policies that they adopted which are to blame to a certain extent. India remained a heavily controlled and closed off economy since independence up to the late nineteen eighties. During that time a license Raj was in place which heavily regulated any private companies that wanted to be established. There was a lot of red tape when it came to procedures for setting up the smallest and simplest of business, and in order to avoid all the red tape and the heavy regulations people openly indulged in bribery which became a norm to get things done faster in the Indian society. Even after the economy was liberalized the social norms of getting work done in the public sphere never changed. This unsavory bond between the politicians and the bureaucrats has come to light time and time again in recent years in the form of scams and scandals such as the fodder scam in which the Chief minister and several notable public servants including members of the opposition were involved, the telecom scam involving the telecom minister of the time etc. All such instances set a very negative mindset in all those aspiring to be politicians there by ruining the man power to come. Sadly, these are the scandals that saw the light of day, countless others of varying magnitudes have been carpeted and will continue if decisive and adequate measures arent taken. Let us examine some of the more recent cases that underline the corruption of society within India over a large sample of fields. In telecommunication, there is no scandal bigger than the 2008 2G Spectrum scam that cost the Indian government over US$ 40 billion. Termed the mother of all scams by BJB Spokes person Ravi Shankar Parsad, at the center of the 2G Spectrum fraud is Indias Telecom Minister, Mr. A. Raja who has been charged with selling off 2G cell phone technology licenses at knocked down prices which were originally set in the year 2001, despite the fact that cell phone users had shot up from 4 million to 350 million between 2001 and 2008. Mr. Raja has further been charged with disregarding the for auctions and awarding licenses without even inviting bids, on a first come first served basis. Furthermore; it is also regarded that Mr. Raja ignored advice from the Law and Finance Ministries of the country and also refused to obey the recommendations from TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) on the rates to set for the auctioning of the spectrum rights. Mr. Raja resigned amidst massive political pressure from the opposition shortly after this scandal came to light. As of now, the Supreme Court of India is monitoring the Central Bank of Indias investigation into the matter. Shortly after the 2G Spectrum scandal, India was hit by another blow of epic proportions, in January of 2009, Chairman of Satyam Computer Services, Ramalinga Raju resigned from his post after notifying the Board of Directors of the company, through a letter that he has falsified the accounts of the company in order to cover up losses that the company was facing. According to Mr. Rajus letter, about US$ 1 Billion (94% of the companys cash on the books) was made up. The Satyam scandal, as it is now commonly known as is biggest ever corporate fraud in the history of the country. The revelation of the Satyam scandal led to Marrill Lynch (Now part of the Bank of America) and State Farm Insurance to withdraw partnerships with the company, caused the Bombay Stock Exchange to plummet 7% and has raised concerns for foreign investors looking to invest in India. (Vaswani) The Crime Investigation Department has been investigating the matter and despite Mr. Rajus claims that no money was used for his personal interests, the CID has found that the company employed 40,000 people, not 53,000 as had been claimed by Mr. Raju who had been withdrawing over INR 20 crore for those 13,000 employees. Moving onto sport now, we shall look at the Commonwealth Games in India who were hit by spate after spate of corruption scandals from faulty contracts being handed out, to un checked budget allocations, to substandard building materials. The 2010 Commonwealth Games were meant to showcase the countrys competence and coming of age but rapidly turned into an embarrassing example of the corruption and inefficiency that is part of everyday life in the worlds largest democracy. As it has been reported the overall expenditure of the games came to a staggering US$ 15.5 billion compared to $1.1 Billion used up for the games in Melbourne in 2006. With such a steep increase in expenditure, one has to wonder where it all went. Allegedly, it is estimated that the expenditure bills have been inflated by 30% of the actual value of services or commodities procured. Even the Income Tax department is now scrutinizing the finances of the CWG after charges of tax evasion were levied against the CWGs bro adcasters. The Central Vigilance Commission is looking into 11 major project tenders which were awarded at hiked rates causing a loss of over US$ 111 million. (Dolakia) The developer of the infrastructure for the CMGs, Emaar-MGF has also been pulled into the mix with alleged irregularities in the construction of the CGW Village in Delhi. To add to all that, the Central Beaureu of Investigation has also been regularly questioning suspected villain in the story, Suresh Kalmadi The Chief of the CWGs organizing committee. The CBI has also been regularly raiding the offices of the organizing committee, nominating Mr. VK Verma in the FIR report for buying and hiring overpriced equipment. Another major fallout from the games was the Queens Baton Relay financial irregularities case, where again, large sums had been paid to a little known British firm for providing rental cars etc during the launch of the Queens Relay Baton in London. Sticking with sports, let us now move onto a corruption scandal that recently shook India and its favorite sport, cricket. The IPL mess all started back in March when the bidding for new franchises in the IPL started. Rendezvous group won the Kochi franchise for $333.33 million. Shashi Tahoor, an MP from Kerala played a mentoring role is said bid. It was then alleged that the Rendezvous groups bid had been accepted despite better offer on the table. As the structure of ownership of the Kochi franchise started to come to light under continuous scrutiny, it was revealed that one of the shareholders was a close associate of Mr. Tahoor. Further down the line the CEO of the Kochi franchise claimed that he was offered $50 million by Lalit Modi, chief of the IPL to pack up his franchise. (Willamson) Further scrutiny was then spread over the entire IPL to identify the roots of the IPLs funding, which revealed that Mr. Modis brother-in-law owned a large part of Rajasthan Royals; his stepson-i n-law owned the company that has the IPLs media rights. Aviation Winister Patels daughter even worked for the IPL. The revelations kept on coming one after the other, while Mr. Tahoor resigned as a Minister for State of External Affairs under growing pressure. Eventually, everything culminated with the suspension of Mr. Modi, but it was to be too late as the Board for Control of Cricket in India had already been damaged badly by the saga. In the earlier part of the decade gone by, India faced, what at that time was one of the largest counterfeit scandals to hit nation. In late 2001, Abdul Karim Telgi was arrested in Ajmer in connection to a scam involving the printing of counterfeit stamp paper and selling it off to bulk purchasers, such as banks, insurance companies and share-broking firms. Despite being in prison it is alleged the Mr. Telgi still managed to continue his buisiness with the help of prison officials and guards. In 2003, Senior Inspector Dattatrya Dhal was arrested, along with Assistant Inspector Dilip Kamat in connection to aiding Mr. Telgi in running his business from prison. An increasing number of high profile arrests continued to be made through the course of the case, such as Krishna Yadav, the former labor minister and sitting MLA. In 2006 a videotape emerged, showing Mr Telgi taking a Narco Analysis (Truth Serum) test and confessing the names of Congress Party leaders Sharad Pawar and Chaggan Bhujbal in relation to his frauds, though neither of the two have been found guilty of any association with Mr. Telgi. At the peak of his fraudulent scandal, Mr. / Tegli is believed to have been earning up to a whopping US$ 40 Million per month. (Telgi scam) The overall hit of the scam is estimated to be as high as $4.5Billion, though some sources conflict on the amount. Taking a trip down memory lane, well take a look at Indias first large scale global corruption scandal; the Bofors scandal, the scale of which, at that point was Indias worst ever. The scandal takes off from when India agreed to purchase 400 155mm Howitzers from Sweedish arms manufacturer, Borfor AB. The then Indian PM, Rajiv Gandhi, along with others was accused of receiving kickbacks in order to award the contract to Borfors. The outcry from the scandal was huge and it is widely accepted that the scandal led to Rajiv Gandhis Indian National Congress party eventually losing out the in 1989 elections. The Bofors scandal is speculated to have been worth about US$ 9 million, which, considering inflation over the last 30 years was no tiny amount. (Prasad) Ranjiv Gandhi was assassinated in 1991 and eventually, in 2004 courts cleared him on charges of bribery but the case is still ongoing in regards to other charges such as causing wrongful loss to the Government. If one wants a perfect example of a sustained scandal that has seen involvement from bureaucrats, politicians and business men, linking hundreds of top officials for over two decades, costing the Nation approximately US$ 206 million, it would be none other than the Fodder Scam. The scam is thought to have been around since the mid 70s with then Chief Minister of Bihar, Jagannath Maishar the first CM to be alleged of involvement in the fodder scam. The scam is said to have original with small scale embezzlement, with government employees submitting false expense reports to get additional funds. This small scale swindle eventually mutated and evolved over two decades into a scandal that involved almost ever senior official in Bihar and countless businessmen. A scandal that has seen the CM of Bihar during the mid 90s when the report broke, Lalu Parsad Yadhav sent to prison multiple times and charged with multiple cases involving embezzlement of government funds. By the time it was exposed, the fodder scam was an intricate scandal run by a mafia consisting of top government officials, bureaucrats, businessmen, even the lower government officials were involved in the scandal that had the country fooled for so long. Funding was demanded from the Government for cattle that never existed and once provided it was pocketed by the mafia of politicians and businessmen, an association that insured the scam could continue undetected for so long, eating up about US$206 million worth of Government funds.(Patna) Staying with political corruption, lets now glance over to a less glamorous, yet equally damning scandal in the 90s that led to US$ 18 million worth of bribery. Arrests of linked militants in Kashmir led to raids against hawala brokers, the Jain brothers which led to the ghastly discovery of evidence of money linked to the Kashmiri militants transferred to top politicians.(Haqque) Known as the Hawala Scam, the most damning feature of this scandal is that despite the huge stake involved in the scandal, it was never sufficiently investigated, despite big names sush as L. K. Advani, V. C. Shukla, P. Shiv Shankar, Sharad Yadav, Balram Jakhar, and Madan Lal Khurana being accused in relation to the scam. Most of the fore mentioned were acquitted to the courts, they deemed the hawala brokers journals to be insufficient evidence. Indias CBI was vastly criticized for its poor investigation of the cases. (Asia Corruption Ranking) This map shows that despite the fact that there is rampant corruption all over India, it is still comparatively not one of the worst countries in the region with regard to corruption. Corruption is a disease that ails many nations, in Indias case the price that it pays in terms of development and even in sheer monetary terms is crippling. A nation that prides itself as the largest democracy of the world and a country where the majority of the population is below the poverty line, and has a very low standard of living cannot afford to have corruption at such a huge scale. Transparency international estimated that truck drivers end up paying billions of dollars worth of bribes annually. With a population of 1.17 billion people, and a Gross domestic product of 4.05 trillion, India can be one of the most rapidly developing nations of the world and the standard of living would improve drastically provided that corruption is brought down.(Factbook) (Nature of Bribe) Of course there will have to be measures in place that will ensure that the money of the people is spent on uplifting their general standard of living. The World Bank and the IMF have reduced spending in certain sectors in India because they recently discovered the level of corruption that takes place. Scandals at a large scale and executed by ministers really damage the reputation of a nation and its question not only credibility but also the aptness of the system which seems to fails time and time again, for it is the failure of the system that so many corrupt individuals reach the top levels of the government. (Perception of corruption) Transparency Internationals measure of corruption, the Corruption Perception Index (CPI), ranks India as a highly corrupt country, this measure basically indicates how corrupt a country is from a scale from one to ten, one being the most and ten being the least. Somalia made it to the top of the list as th most corrupt country with the measure of 1.1 followed closely by Afghanistan (1.4) and finally down the list is India with a 3.3, followed by Brazil which has a 3.7 and so on. Despite these disturbing findings that shocked many international investors and observers, the Indian population remains largely indifferent to this embarrassing find. (Amount of Bribe) After an exhaustive study of the causes and roots of corruption in the country, one must then look at preventive steps and amends that must be made in the anti-corruption system that would strengthen it and allow for a brighter future to pervade through. In this vein, the works of Professor Krishna K. Tummala and Sunil Sondhi serve as seminal instances of the what, the how and the why of Corruption and ways to combat it. Professor Tummala correctly identifies the overall political and socio-economic conditions of the country to be conducive to the spread and perpetuation of corruption (Tummala 26). As noted by various scholars of public policy and management, less developed countries are prone to corruption by virtue of the income and economic disparities that plague their populace, the inequality of opportunities, fast-changing life styles and inefficiency of the state when it comes to providing basic public amenities such as energy resources, infrastructure and security. Couple that with the fast pace at which the world is changing and the struggle to embrace modernity and one has the perfect recipe for disaster! In such a context, efforts to curb corruption and use of illegal force and authority are indeed difficult to implement and promulgate, however with a few adjustments, such policy changes might just allow for a concrete step towards progress after all. Corruption stems for two basic reasons, contends Tummala, need and greed and posits that corruption in the civil and public service sectors might be contained to some extent by an increase in salaries across the board. One such recommendation was seen to be made in March 2008 by the Sixth Pay Commission which favored a bump in incomes in the lower rungs of the civil service so as to alleviate corruption bottom-up. However, even in countries where the civil service is paid hefty incomes, corruption still exists at all levels which leads one to understand that greed is not of kind, but of size and that unless such acts are publicly denounced and proclaimed at absolutely intolerable that a difference, if any at all, is to come about. What one notices in India is this complacency at all levels, be it the political leadership or civil society, a high ended business man or a common man on the street. As the Santhanam committee rightly observes, a favorable social climate must be created wh erein the likes of corruption and illegal activities are strongly condemned and protested against. Following from the same line of argument, there exists a strong dualism within the Hindu society, where on the one hand the a holier than thou attitude exists and the great epic tales from the Vedas and narrations of honesty, generosity and piety of legendry kings such as Vikramaditya that are told to children even today, on the other we have an inclination towards a most immoral, debase lifestyle which is fed by the desire to compete with the proponents of the liberal, modern lifestyle which took hold post the economic liberalization in 1990. The rhetoric of anti-corruption that is heard once in a blue moon now and then stands as measly Lilliputtian when compared to the giant Gulliver of the modern, liberal, commodity-dependant lifestyle which can only be maintained in the long run by resorting to corrupt practices in a country like India. What needs to be understood then is the need for a cognitive reframing and reconceptualization. We need to reinvoke the principles of simplicity and spirituality into our daily affairs and lifestyles to change the very way a singular block of the community functions, thereby effectuating change bottom-up. However, what needs to be reiterated at this point is that a simple bottom-up and grass-roots level approach is not the complete answer to the plague that is corruption in the country. A simultaneous top-down approach is necessary to ensure the effectiveness and perpetuation of the corruption-alleviation scheme. Herein the role of the three branches of the State comes into play. The Indian system of governance is parliamentary one with the doctrine of separation of powers firmly in place as per the Constitution. The Parliament being the Legislative, the Prime Minister being the Executive and the Supreme Court, holding Judicial authority. Whereas India has with the passage of time strengthened its Judiciary with the Supreme Court taking landmark decisions and the inclusion of amendments 73 and 74 to the Constitution that allow for the empowerment of the masses, there is still is a long way to be covered for the Judiciary to effectively play its part in alleviating and eradicating corruption. As both Sondhi and Tummala have noted, the Judicial processes of India allow for unnecessary delays in suits against corruption, red-tapism and the existence of unnecessary hierarchies both within the judicial as well as accountability/transparency systems allow for cases to get stuck in the back log or never effectively tackled. Moreover laws that have been made to tackle or eradicate corruption from its very roots are either mostly ignored or followed only in certain instances and on the whole the entire spirit of the law is often found to be lost. In fact, paradoxically, certain laws are found to be in complete contravention to the benefits they aim to provide the masses. Tummala correctly notes: various rights guaranteed to the civil servants in the name of assuring their neutrality and accord protection from harassment have been found to come in the way of bringing the errant to book. As noted, Article 311 of the Constitution of India (requiring permission of the appointing authority to prosecute) proved to be a major hurdle. (Tummala 72) Even in the case where the corrupt are brought to the courts, the process of providing justice is extremely slow and long-ended as has been observed earlier. Correctly identifying this, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has noted the need for special courts to be formulated and special institutions to be erected for this very purpose. A review of the judicial process is therefore extremely necessary to come to an effective solution to this problem. Appellate jurisdiction must be provided to special courts for such cases which can then relieve the burden of the pre-existant courts and allow for revisions and appeals to be dealt with effectively and efficiently. The help of partnering institutions must be invoked to ensure the smooth flow of information and evidence when it comes to these cases. In this vein, the help of watch-dog organizations, both national and international, may be sought. Coming next to the problem of implementation which essentially stems from the Executive and its subservient bodies wherein we see a lack of role models who set examples for the general populace. In fact in the very tenure of Indira Gandhi, as Sondhi rightly notes, the practices of corruption within various body functionaries of the state were seen to exist in the form of policies that encourage excess and allow for lacunas within the system of law and governance. The case of Bihar also serves as an apt example, where despite the existence of a number of anti-corruption measures, the implementation of the said measures amounted to zilch. Similarly the case of Tamilnadu where the Chief Minister herself was found to be involved in various cases of corruption serve as an apt example of what is wrong with the current state of affairs and simultaneously point out what needs to change. The political leadership itself needs to be kept in check and in this regards administrative accountabilit y and transparency needs to be encouraged and implemented. As Sondhi notes, such measures,

Eulogy for Son :: Eulogies Eulogy

Eulogy for Son I'd like to thank you all for the outpouring of support and condolences on the loss of my beautiful son Adam. My entire family appreciates it. This is my eulogy to Adam: Depression is a terrible disease. Adam suffered so much with a disease that often goes unrecognized as very serious, or even as a disease, but is often fatal. Many people who meet someone like Adam think all he needs is tough love - how wrong they are. To those who have never had this disease, you cannot imagine how frightening the demons are, how they take over your life, your every thought, your every action. There is no respite within the mind; it is constantly on overdrive. Doctors have few clues as to how to treat this. Lord knows how many doctors, tests, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers we've seen. Adam was hospitalized at least three times and lived in a residential therapeutic facility for seven months. He tried every anti-depressant drug available. He spent another year in the military. The National Guard and Air Force were brief respites from his torments. He excelled at both and became a poster soldier for the National Guard. He received an honorable discharge from the Air Force. But, in the long run, the military was ill-equipped to deal with the disease. Despite his disease Adam had passions, passions for hockey, for music, for his family. He worked out three days a week and studied to better himself. His sense of humor was infectious; he saw the world differently and would always see the irony in life. On Monday driving to the airport after the Super Bowl he saw a gun shop and a hospital next-door. Once at a New Jersey Devils hockey game he seemed the only one shocked by the scoreboard message: "Devils welcome the Churches of NJ." He'd always noticed the contradictions in life. But, he was always his own worst critic - never able to bask in his successes with the military, getting his GED, scoring a 3-point basket, getting a goal in hockey or fixing complex computer problems. He emulated his brother, David, but disease got in the way. He loved his sister, Deena, more than anything, but was rarely able to show it. They, in turn, loved him dearly - a better brother and sister there's never been. For that matter, a better mother there's never been.

Inadequate Secondary Education in the United States :: Educational Learning School Essays

Inadequate Secondary Education in the United States ‘Tis education forms the common mind; Just as the twig is bent the tree’s inclined. Pope – Moral Essays Two years ago, I used to work at a photo shop in downtown Philadelphia. Except for me, the only foreigner, there were five Americans working there. Once, we talked about the American life in the beginning of the twentieth century. To support my opinion, I used an example from a short story called â€Å"The Gift of the Magi† by a famous American writer O. Henry. It was a very shocking experience for me to find out that nobody knew who O. Henry was or what he had done for the world literature. Since then, I met a lot of American people with a lack of basic cultural knowledge and, at the same time, with an outstanding professional expertise. Very quickly, I figured out that the root of this problem is in the secondary school education. The American secondary school pays too little attention to producing students with well-rounded education substituting the â€Å"what† with the â€Å"how†. Placing an undue emphasis on the methods of teaching and studying (the â€Å"how†) at the expense of the material being taught and studied (the â€Å"what†) makes the choice of what to teach of secondary importance. A weak and disintegrated curriculum is a source of another problem. Excessive attention to the American culture and inadequate attention to the culture of the rest of the world lead American people to a false confidence in the superiority of the American culture. However, the fact is that American â€Å"high school graduates are ranked low compared to other countries† (Bowsher, 146). Many people may say that I exaggerate the problem, because the United States is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world and this fact is directly associated with a quality education. As to some lack of cultural education, they say, it can be filled at the higher educational level in college. Thus, these problems cannot be so global. Unfortunately, they are just so global. Evidently, the college education in the United States retains high standards that enable the U.S. to maintain its technology at the cutting edge. But students coming from high schools are often not ready for a more advanced study and must waste their time in noncredit courses (Burstein, par. 1). Alexander Burstein, an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the Iowa State University, describes his view of this situation: Inadequate Secondary Education in the United States :: Educational Learning School Essays Inadequate Secondary Education in the United States ‘Tis education forms the common mind; Just as the twig is bent the tree’s inclined. Pope – Moral Essays Two years ago, I used to work at a photo shop in downtown Philadelphia. Except for me, the only foreigner, there were five Americans working there. Once, we talked about the American life in the beginning of the twentieth century. To support my opinion, I used an example from a short story called â€Å"The Gift of the Magi† by a famous American writer O. Henry. It was a very shocking experience for me to find out that nobody knew who O. Henry was or what he had done for the world literature. Since then, I met a lot of American people with a lack of basic cultural knowledge and, at the same time, with an outstanding professional expertise. Very quickly, I figured out that the root of this problem is in the secondary school education. The American secondary school pays too little attention to producing students with well-rounded education substituting the â€Å"what† with the â€Å"how†. Placing an undue emphasis on the methods of teaching and studying (the â€Å"how†) at the expense of the material being taught and studied (the â€Å"what†) makes the choice of what to teach of secondary importance. A weak and disintegrated curriculum is a source of another problem. Excessive attention to the American culture and inadequate attention to the culture of the rest of the world lead American people to a false confidence in the superiority of the American culture. However, the fact is that American â€Å"high school graduates are ranked low compared to other countries† (Bowsher, 146). Many people may say that I exaggerate the problem, because the United States is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world and this fact is directly associated with a quality education. As to some lack of cultural education, they say, it can be filled at the higher educational level in college. Thus, these problems cannot be so global. Unfortunately, they are just so global. Evidently, the college education in the United States retains high standards that enable the U.S. to maintain its technology at the cutting edge. But students coming from high schools are often not ready for a more advanced study and must waste their time in noncredit courses (Burstein, par. 1). Alexander Burstein, an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the Iowa State University, describes his view of this situation:

The Medias Degradation of Women Essay -- Media Exploitation of Women

Women have been fighting for the right to be equal members of society for centuries. In the past women were treated as second class citizens and didn’t have the same rights as men did. Women later lead a movement to change these ways. Although some drastic changes did come about from these movements, equality wasn’t fully attained. In this day and age, equality between men and women still hasn’t been achieved and the media is to blame for that. For decades, the media has dominated society’s views and perspectives of others. Due to recent media, it has been difficult to regulate how women are being influenced and treated by other people in society. The media influences society tremendously and subconsciously steers the way we treat and think of others. Advertisements, television shows, movies, the internet, magazines and other forms of the media have all targeted women in a very erroneous manner. Women are still being highly misrepresented and misunderstood through media all over the world. Increasingly, real women are being under represented, misrepresented, sexualized, discriminated, stereotyped and in many cases violence and abuse against women has also been glamorized. Although we feel that we’ve come a long way, women still aren’t being treated as equal members of society. Going back to the 1950’s, women were expected to be stay at home mothers and housewives. â€Å"This was also the era of the "happy homemaker." For young mothers in the 1950s, domesticity was idealized in the media, and women were encouraged to stay at home if the family could afford it. Women who chose to work when they didn't need the paycheck were often considered selfish, putting themselves before the needs of their family† (Daniels 2002)... ...resentation. DVD. Dallas, TX: Assemble. Retrieved May 5, 2014(http://film.missrepresentation.org/) Research Article) Silverstein, Brett. 1996. "The Role of the Mass Media in Promoting a Thin Standard of Bodily Attractiveness for Women." Sex Roles:519-520. Retrieved May 6, 2014(http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00287452#page-1) (Research Article) Stankiewicz, Julie. 2008. "Women as sex objects and victims in print advertisements." Sex Roles:579-589. Retrieved May 5, 2014(http://www.skidmore.edu/classics/courses/2011spring/gw101/Women%20As%20S ex%20 Objects%20and%20Victims%20in%20Print%20Advertisements.pdf) (Research Article) Wood, Julia. 1994. "Gendered Media: The Influence of Media on Views of Gender." Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture:231-244. Retrieved May 6, 2014(http://www.udel.edu/comm245/readings/GenderedMedia.pdf)

Is College Worth the Cost

Is College Worth The Cost? College is getting more and more expensive as the years go on. The question is; is it worth the cost? In three different articles, authors will tell you their opinion and give evidence behind their reasoning. Derek Thompson writes â€Å"What’s More Expensive than College? Not Going to College,’ Amy Phillips writes â€Å"Is college worth the money? † and Justin Pope writes â€Å"College Costs: New Research Weighs the True Value of a College Education. † First, author Derek Thompson’s main claim is there is still something more expensive than going to school, very often that is not going to school.Thompson uses data and charts as evidence to prove his theory of the cost of college. This makes it very affective to his article because there are detailed charts helping to prove his opinion essay writer fast. His purpose for writing his article is to make sure the people who don’t know that not attending college can make you suffer in the real world with your job. The intended audience for his article is the people who don’t plan on going to college because they need to see what mistake they are making. In the chart in the article it shows us the unemployment rates from people with a Doctoral degree to people who only had less than a high school diploma.Obviously the rates for people who had less than a high school diploma were over 12 times the amount of a Doctoral degree. He also states within the article that college grads earn more than 80% than people who don’t go to school period. That’s a staggering amount of money that’s could be earned but people don’t chose to take it. I believe his evidence definitely supports Thompson’s main claim. Next, Amy Phillip’s main claim is that education is not worth the cost because to many people have a degree. Phillips uses sources to give her evidence behind her main claim.She claims that the saying â€Å"sp end more money to achieve a better standard of living† is wrong. She states that yes going to college does earn you more money but you also have student loans to pay for. And also the extra money is not promised because due to a released report by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics shows that one in five porters and bellhops have college degrees. Phillip’s goes on to talk about how if we really do know what we want our career’s to be, instead of forking out loads of money at a four or more year college we can attend vocational schools.To get our degrees faster and only learn that particular study. I believe her evidence is not very affective because the evidence she gives does not give a reinsurance to do the things that she is writing about. She is intending her audience to be to the people who are wasting their money in four or more year colleges. Her purpose for writing this was to stop the lying to a whole generation by telling them that obtaining a college d egree will make life better. Finally, Justin Pope took a different direction then his fellow writers.His first claim is that the middle-class is getting particularly squeezed with student loans in the pursuit of one. And his second claim is that students from middle income families rack up more in student loan debt on an average than other. With his first claim he gives data to support his evidence. The unemployment rate for all four-year graduates is 4. 5%. For recent graduates, it’s 6. 8%. For recent graduates trying to work with only a high school diploma, it’s nearly 24%. These statistics show that not going to school gives you a higher unemployment rate than most graduates.With his second claim the evidence is that federal grant aid targets the low-income families. Meaning that the high-income families have no problem with paying their tuition fees and with low-income the government is helping them but for the middle class families they don’t have enough mo ney to pay their whole tuition but they also don’t get assistance. So by time graduation middle class families have more student loan debt than anyone. The purpose for Pope writing this is to let the middle class know that he understands where they are coming from.I believe his examples are very affective because his evidence shows who is doing more of the suffering. And finally his intended audience is to the middle-income families. In conclusion, my opinion on college be worth the cost is, that yes I believe college is definitely worth the cost. The author that I think had the strongest argument was Derek Thompson. His way of explaining his evidence made me understand more of his main claim. Going to college not only means a lot to my mom but it does to me too.Yes, Amy Phillips does have a point with her main claim; with what I want to do when I am older I could easily go to vocational school and earn my degree a lot faster than going to a four-year college. But I think job s would hire people who have the extra education than the people with little education. Becoming a nurse is my main priority, since it is in the medical field there is more competition for jobs. So having that higher degree and longer time in college shows that I am more dedicated to becoming a nurse and it also gets me paid more than the people who just went to vocational school.

European Advertising vs. American Advertising

Research Paper ARS 230 The main aspect of advertising is to ‘get more bang for the buck’, to make it aesthetically pleasing to the eye and gain the viewer’s attention. Throughout the years, advertising has varied in many ways from catchy slogans to iconic logos. Some may say there is nothing wrong with a little healthy competition, but what if one area is gaining the benefits slightly different than the others because of their boldness?American and European advertising are very different culturally as well as aesthetically. There has always been a cultural difference in the style of advertising between America and Europe, whether it is sexual content, trend or originality. A striking boldness seems to be a trending approach in Europe, while classic reason takes a hold of America. Researchers have said that one main difference between American and European advertisements is that European ads use emotional blackmailing while American ads reason for you.Both European and American advertising benefit in marketing, it is simply just a matter of effectiveness based on the audience. When comparing the two cultures of advertisement, American versus European, it is safe to say that no one approach is better, just simply different. It is compared as emotion versus product. America is focused on selling the product and comparing it to other competitors whereas Europe is more focused on the emotion and beauty of the actual advertisement. â€Å" A trend is at work that has gone much further in the United States than in Europe.The trend has been manifested in recent decades by a dramatic growth in the number of separate brands and brand variants, a proliferation that has had a deadening effect on American advertising,† (Jones). America is effective because of the number of brands that are produced and compared where Europe is more effective by staying loyal to their brands and elaborating on commercial advertising. Looking at an advertisement in Eu rope may catch your eye because of the boldness. Europe is well known for using sexual nudity to promote a product, simply because ‘sex sells’.Approaching advertising in a different light would be emotionally. In America, advertising can be described as hard selling. Hard selling is a campaign or advertisement that is direct, forceful and straight to the point. For example while watching an American seatbelt warning on Youtube, the commercial is simply based on the motto, â€Å"Click it or Ticket†, showing average people driving their cars and getting pulled over by officers and receiving a ticket and fine. The commercial is to the point and straight forward, showing almost no emotion.The approach that American marketing companies have used is effective by saying ‘If you don’t’ wear your seatbelt, then you will be forced by law to pay a fine’. Similarly compared to the American commercial is the European commercial’s motto, †Å"Heaven Can Wait†, is an emotional grasp on losing your life over not wearing your seatbelt. Although the two are trying to deliver the same idea, the European method seems to make a gentler or softer appeal to the viewer by incorporating emotion and reality into the grand scheme.The emotion, fear, is incorporated into this commercial and motivates the audience to action. We as viewers can see how both American and European advertising is very successful; it is hard not to view one as more effective. Another aspect of advertising that can differentiate the two cultures is the aesthetics of line and color. For instance, the simple crisp lines of the Nike logo, demonstrates an iconic swoosh and flat one dimensional color paired with the logo â€Å"Just do it,† that subconsciously stays in your mind and makes you feel like you can be an athlete yourself.This portrays a basic and simple, yet straight to the point kind of approach. In Europe you can see a trend of color blo cking and also an artist like logo. â€Å"The American advertisers use more words and headlines, when many European ones use more images and illustrations; they try to find images, which in the best way, without any words, will communicate ideas that stand behind them† (SYL). This can be described as verbal versus visual. There are many ways to compare the two continents when discussing advertising.Although no one culture is wrong, American advertising seems to feel more effective than European because you simply have more product. American and European advertising are both aesthetically visual and promotionally advertised. Weather the culture or continent, no product or company could be formally published without the beauty of advertisement.Bibliography University. , John Philip Jones; John Philip Jones Is A Professor At The Newhouse School Of Public Communications, Syracuse. â€Å"FORUM; Why European Ads Are More Amusing. † The New York Times. The New York Times, 07 Oct. 990. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. <http://www. nytimes. com/1990/10/07/business/forum-why-european-ads-are-more-amusing. html>. Gonzalez, Mario V. â€Å"American vs. EuropeanA  Advertising. † Marketing WebCafA ©. WordPress, 24 Feb. 2011. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. <http://marketingwebcafe. wordpress. com/2011/02/24/european-vs-american-advertising/>. â€Å"Comparison of American and European Advertising. † Comparison of American and European Advertising Style. SYL, 10 Oct. 2006. Web. 19 Oct. 2012. <http://www. syl. com/bc/comparisonofamericanandeuropeanadvertisingstyle. html>

Great Gatsby Essay

Not only does the idea of money being the most important factor in life means one’s partner comes second, it additionally solidities one’s class, meaning families are separated just by the amount of money they have to their names. Fitzgerald illustrates the theme of doomed love with the relationship of Tom Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson, Tom,  powerfully built and hailing from a socially solid old family yet associating with Myrtle, whose lifeless husband George owns a run-down garage in the valley of ashes, representing two extreme classes. McEwan reinforces this theme in the relationship between Robbie Turner and Cecilia Tallis, Robbie a gardener and Cecilia the daughter of the ministry-employed and wealthy Jack Tallis are also partitioned by class. Consequently, relationships in both novels are doubtlessly doomed due to the impenetrable barriers of class and wealth. Throughout the novel, this theme is reinforced as we discover a consistent number of tragedies in the majority of relationships. The idea of Gatsby’s and Daisy’s relationship being inevitably doomed is emphasized with the Gatsby using the abstract noun ‘passion’ showing the obsession he has with Daisy, highlighting the idea of a Romeo and Juliet relationship, one being so in love that it is bound to end in tragedy. Additionally, Fitzgerald illuminates doomed love with symbolism describing the portrait of Dan Cody, a man who mirrors the average man in the American soceity as a ‘florid man with a hard, empty face’ which reflects the hollowness of people and their materialistic views; they solely focus on their wealth over relationships. McEwan reflects such demeanour in Briony Tallis’ story ‘The Princess was well aware of his remorseless wickedness, but that made it no easier to overcome the voluminous love she felt in her heart for Sir Romulus’ again initiating the predicament of unconditional love. This is obviously bound to end in disaster when such dispute, such as class separation and the ‘importance’ of money is involved in the relationship which reflects Fitzgerald’s relationship of Gatsby and Daisy where Gatsby is unbelievably in love with Daisy and yet we know she does not feel quite the same way, again initiating disaster. Symbolism, a feature Fitzgerald continuously employs for the duration of ‘The Great Gatsby’ additionally emphasizes the theme of doomed loved. Previous to Daisy’s arrival in Chapter Four, Gatsby exclaimed a few minutes before she was due to arrive that ‘Nobody’s coming to tea. It’s too late! ’ and that he ‘can’t wait all day’, this is a very ironic statement, firstly for the fact he says ‘nobody’s coming’ as we know that Daisy really never does return into Gatsby’s life as he wishes she will and secondly that he says ‘it’s too late! and yet he’s waited five years to   see Daisy. Furthermore, when Gatsby and Daisy first sit down together, ‘the clock took this moment to tilt dangerously at the pressure of his head’ which symbolises the idea of time being a very important theme, the adverb ‘dangerously’ clearly highlighting how precarious the desi re to recapture the past really is. The idea that when the clock fell off the mantelpiece, it stopped, symbolises Gatsby’s life, frozen in time, he believing everything between him and Daisy will be exactly as it was, five years before. Fitzgerald carries on using symbolism behind all issues in the novel, after the tragic death of Gatsby, Tom Buchanan and Daisy Fay flee to a new house far away rather than condescend to attend Gatsby’s funeral, ‘They were careless people, Tom and Daisy–they smashed up things’  again mirroring the hollowness of people and the hedonistic attitudes they have to life; all they care about is themselves, nobody else’s feelings and so this is an additional important factor to why relationships end up in pieces. Furthermore, ‘the green light’ is another important symbol in ‘The Great Gatsby’ representing Gatsby’s hopes and dreams for the future. In Chapter One, ‘he stretched out his arms towards a single green light’ as a guiding light to lead him to his goal: Daisy and yet at the end of the novel, we realise his dream was one stuck in the past, impossible to achieve, although Nick as the retrospective narrator observes, the light does still continue to shine one, symbolising hope for the rest of us and yet so much doom for Gatsby and Daisy and the love between them. The prominent theme of doomed love is additionally supported by McEwan’s fragmented structure of the novel symbolising the broken hearts of Robbie Turner and Cecilia Tallis which is mirrored in Nick’s unreliable narrative voice. An obsession with materialism reflects the hollowness of the people of 1920s America, Gatsby reinforces this object-orientated focus when he cries ‘she only married you because I was poor and she was tired waiting for me’, obviously highlighting that the only reason Daisy was to marry was for money, not the fact she loved thus illuminating doomed love as the relationship is based on money and materialism. Fitzgerald uses wealth imagery to describe Daisy ‘Her voice is full of money’ symbolising the need for money as a support for her own personality. Kevin Rea writes ‘the sense of hope conveyed by yellow is still present in the light and music. But the fact ‘the earth lurches away from the sun’ hints at the transient powers wealth bestows’’ which again illuminates the theme of money being so important, yet underneath it only leads to disaster in relationships in the novel again initiating the theme of doomed love. Incredibly, Gatsby himself is one factor of his own relationship with Daisy being so doomed. Blinded by the astronomic amount of love he has for her, Gatsby states ‘Can’t repeat the past?†¦ Why of course you can! ’, emphasizing the unachievable expectations he has, all he wants to do is regress to five years before and reunite perfectly with his ‘love’, but coincidently we know this is quite the opposite of what happens. Furthermore Gatsby wants something of Daisy that she can’t give, an unachievable statement, for her to ‘just tell him the truth, that you never loved him and it’s all wiped out forever’ about Tom, but we know this can’t happen as Daisy’s love for Tom was once real and strong as narrated in Jordan’s vignette. Fitzgerald uses an abundance of pathetic fallacy throughout the novel in coordination with the theme of doomed love. Gatsby and Daisy’s first meeting seems particularly awkward which reflects the weather, ‘pouring†¦small muddy swamps and prehistoric marshes’ reinforcing the mood. Additionally, as Gatsby and Daisy began to ‘click’ and ‘bond’ the ‘sun shone again’ initiating an optimistic and joyful mood. Sorrow returns at the tragic funeral of Gatsby along with the miserable weather, ‘thick drizzle’, ‘rain poured down his thick glasses’ showing doom in any love between him and Daisy. Likewise, McEwan uses pathetic fallacy, Leon asks Cecelia if ‘the hot weather’ makes her behave badly, this weather reflecting the difficulties between Robbie and Cecelia, the weather a hindrance, an obstruction, a way of creating misery in one’s life, mirroring Briony Tallis’ role in ‘Atonement’ and how she destroys and completely gets in the way of the relationship, consequently illuminating the theme of doomed love and reflecting ‘The Great Gatsby’ in the way Gatsby is an obstruction with his own affiliation with Daisy Fay. As we begin to draw close to the end of ‘The Great Gatsby’, we come across the reunited relationship of Daisy and Tom ‘sitting opposite each other’. Fitzgerald describes the couple ‘they weren’t happy†¦and yet they weren’t unhappy either’ mirroring the people of 1920s America, in the Jazz Age, as Gertrude Stein stated they were ‘the lost generation’ and had no real point to life and so lived unhappily, happily. Although this image of the two sitting together not showing compassion or love could represent doomed love, some could alternatively say that this relationship, which looked doomed at the start, is now the only good, strong one left, contradicting the theme. Mike Peters writes ‘not only Gatsby, but several of the other characters remain enigmas’, showing mysteriousness to the characters in Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’, maybe Gatsby did only love Daisy for the money or maybe Daisy never loved Tom? None of us can know, excluding Fitzgerald, we have no final conclusions to draw. However, it is clear that in the heartless and materialism obsessed society that Fitzgerald creates, it is only the most corrupt relationship that survives at the end. To finally conclude, Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ leaves us with nothing but disappointment, which shows contrast to McEwan’s ‘Atonement’ which then leaves us with the possibility of hope and faith. Fitzgerald leaves us with sadness and we feel sympathy for the characters in the book, they all seem lost and seeking for something and yet the only solution they discover is money, highlighting again the theme of doomed love, money before love. The death of Myrtle Wilson devastates hers and George’s relationship which is obviously the result of her materialistic values and her longing for Tom’s money, her main focus in a man was his money, this is highlighted when she says that ‘’Oh, is that your suit? ‘ I said. ‘This is the first I ever heard about it. But I gave it to him and then I lay down and cried to beat the band all afternoon† reinforcing the idea that wealth is of huge importance to her. Gatsby obviously dead and Tom and Daisy reunited, but only on the thread of a string, all these sorrows as a result of money and class partition. Additionally, the death of Robbie Turner in ‘Atonement’ is the result of class partitio ning and so is also highlighting the theme of doomed love, a major theme in both F. Scott. Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ and Ian McEwan’s ‘Atonement’.

Earthquakes in MEDC’s and LEDC’s

A well-known principle states that the impact of earthquakes in LEDC's or Less Economically Developed Countries is generally more severe when compared with MEDC's or More Economically Developed Countries. This shall be illustrated by comparing the Kobe Earthquake in Japan of 1995 with the Kashmir Earthquake of 2005. The Kobe Earthquake occurred on Tuesday, January 17, 1995, at 05:46 JST in the southern part of Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. It measured 7.2 on the Richter scale and lasted for 20 seconds. The duration of the tremors was around 20 seconds long. The focus of the earthquake was located 16km below the epicentre, on the northern edge of the Awaji Island, approximately 20km from Kobe. The proximity to the city was a major factor of its widespread devastation. The ground moved 18cm horizontally and 12 cm vertically. The Kashmir Earthquake was caused by the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plate boundaries colliding. Its epicentre was located in Azad Kashmir near the city of Muzaffarabad. It occurred at 08:52:37 Pakistan Standard Time (03:52:37 UTC) on 8 October 2005. According to the authorities, 79000 people died. A major factor in the severity of the earthquake was the poor construction – a salient feature of LEDC's. The Indian Plate which was moving 40 mm a year north collided with the Eurasian plate and was forced beneath it. It measured 7.6 on the Richter Scale. As is evident, although the magnitude of both earthquakes was extremely similar, the impacts varied greatly. This was due to many factors, which most if not all are related to the economic situation of the countries. We shall begin by discussing the impacts of each of the earthquakes, thereafter we shall discuss why these effects differed. Kashmir Earthquake Immediately, 1400 people were killed. Buildings were swaying and many collapsed due to the strength of the earthquake. Electricity supplies were cut off, people were trapped in buildings and roads were blocked due to landslides which hindered initial rescue attempts. Of the 8 million who were affected, 100,000 were injured. Several trains on minor lines were derailed while 3.3 million homes were destroyed. These are the crux of the primary effects. Many cars were destroyed, trains were suspended, roads were blocked and in many areas the only way to access was through the air. Due to the impact on the buildings, many small businesses were shut down leading to severe job losses. Pakistan lost a total of approximately $500,000,000, which led to the president of the time, Musharraf, to appeal for international aid including money, tents, medical aid and helicopters. This suffices in illustrating the economic devastation brought to the country through the earthquake. Major hospitals were destroyed, putting the injured in an extremely grave situation, the skyline was practically non-existent and perhaps the worst secondary effect was the phenomena of landslides which destroyed much of the infrastructure and endangered those on the streets. As mentioned earlier, there were a great number of injured, homeless and jobless people. This caused widespread depression, which is understandable when the extended family set-up of households is examined. All in all, more than 87,000 people died and 138,000 were injured. The city's infrastructure was destroyed, clean water was extremely rare, hospitals were destroyed and many were homeless even after a year. This led to major secondary impacts such as outbreaks of diseases due to contaminated water supplies; people were affected with respiratory infections such as pneumonia; and the harsh winter season caused the homeless to suffer. Around 3.3 million people were living in temporary accommodation by the end of the happenings. When we compare the impacts of the Kashmir earthquake with the Kobe earthquake, we find that the primary effects are similar. These include the fact that buildings collapsed and the fact that many trains derailed. Numerous bridges and expressways collapsed and 120 of the 150 quays in the port of Kobe were destroyed as well as gas and electricity supplies being disrupted. Fires were set off due to destroyed gas pipes and electricity mains causing a further 7500 houses to burn. The roads were gridlocked causing delays in emergency services. 716 aftershocks were recorded and these lasted for several days. Industries such as Mitsubishi and Panasonic were forced to close. The death toll, however, was only 5500, injuries were 40,000 and 180,000 houses were destroyed. The newly opened Kansai Airport, due to its brilliant structural foundations, withstood the earthquake, as well as the Akashi Bridge. However, when we consider the fact that the population density of both areas was similar yet the number of dead, homeless and injured was far more in the Kashmir earthquake than that of the Kobe earthquake. By July, in about 5 months, most of the infrastructure such as water, electricity, gas and telephone services were up and running. Most buildings in commercial areas were repaired and the places affected by fires had been cleared. Rail services were back in service by August. A year later, 80% of the port was functional i.e. all but the Expressway. There was an increase in the technology used to determine information on earthquakes and movements in the region, and steps were implemented to make sure that devastation to that scale would not occur again. When the impacts of the 2 earthquakes are compared, it becomes clear that, although the population density of both areas were similar and the magnitude of both were similar, the death, injured and homeless figures are totally out of proportion, with Kashmir suffering a greater loss than Japan. This is also the case when the speed of recovery of the areas is considered, and it can be safely concluded that the infrastructure was more reliable in Kobe than in Kashmir. In addition, Japan's economy was able to self-fund the aid whereas Musharraf was left begging the international community for aid. We shall examine each of these points in detail in the forthcoming paragraphs. Firstly, in order to understand where the problem lies, one must examine the details in chronological order. We find that the primary effects were extremely similar with buildings falling, electricity, gas and water supplies being disrupted, roads blocked etc. In some instances, we even find that Japan was hit worse such as the fact that the gas supplies were set alight causing fires. However, we see that each figure is out of proportion as this table illustrates: Japan Kashmir Dead 5500 87,350 Homeless 230,000 3.3 Million Injured 40,000 138,000 In my opinion, the vast amount of people who died in the Kashmir earthquake could have boiled down to a number of factors. Illiteracy and Ignorance of emergency procedure when an earthquake strikes could have posed as a major factor in the amount of people that died. This idea could be further strengthened when you consider that many people in LEDC's do not possess modern education. This is insofar as a the personal scale goes. On a governmental scale, due to the other priorities of LEDC's, little emphasis would be placed on these types of events due to their minute chance of occurring. The government may wish to focus on other matters. This idea could be strengthened when we are to couple this fact with the reality of the Pakistani government which, according to a 2007 report of Transparency International, Pakistan ranks 7th most corrupt country in the world. It is highly likely that money may have been filtered in the wrong places. When compared with Japan, we see that they immediately increased the number of seismic instruments to record earth movements in the region. This would reduce the likeliness of it occurring again which is possibly the most important thing to do for the government. In addition, the Japanese government decreed that buildings were to be built much more strongly and outlined a new set of guidelines for this to take place. This would place too much of a burden on the Pakistani government. Although these long-term causes should be rectified, other short-term causes should be identified. These include that, since Saturday was a normal school day, many school children were studying and as a result were buried under collapsed schools. It was also during the month of Ramadan, when people were taking a nap after their pre-dawn meal, hence they may not have had enough time to escape. Entire villages were simply wiped out like this. In conclusion, although it is expected that LEDC's like Kashmir would be hit worse than MEDC's such as Japan due to their economies, it is nevertheless possible to prevent such grave impacts that took place in Kashmir happening again. The people should be educated with emergency procedures, the government should invest in relevant technology which would indicate and warn them ahead of time when seismic activity was occurring. In addition, the government should outline new guidelines for buildings in which they are earthquake resistant just as Japan did. These would strain the economy in the short-term, although in the long term this would relieve the economy should an earthquake such as this one would take place again.